Fine Lines
by Lady Lioness
Summary: Set of 3 mini-tags to "Baby, it's You," all featuring the male Roswellians.


Author's Notes: I had to tape this episode and fast-forward through most   
of the icky parts. Still, there were a few scenes that blipped on my psychological   
radar. I didn't want to write a paper, so I wrote these teeny tags instead. It's  
in my usual vignette style. Spoiler warnings for "Baby, It's You" and references  
made to "Cry Your Name."   
  
"Duties Beyond Needs"  
  
It had taken him a moment to remember where he was. The concrete was rough against  
his bare skin, and he shifted irritably against the grit. Suddenly, the girl next to him  
shifted and her hair brushed against his skin. He remembered then and he wished that  
he didn't. Everytime he had pictured this moment, it had been incredibly different.  
Different place, different setting, and definitely a different girl. His life had  
completely changed from the way he had wanted it.   
  
The point had only been underscored when he sat on the park bench and listened  
to Tess tell him that she was pregnant. It hadn't sunk in at first, and then hit   
him like a ton of bricks, square on his chest. He couldn't breathe, his throat  
tightening nearly to the point of close. Too fast, it was all too fast. It  
had only been this morning he had woken up besides this woman, and now she was  
telling him that he had created a child.   
  
When he had strode through the door, had found the two of them standing there  
together, something inside of him had snapped. The sight of his past and future   
standing there united, it was just too much for him. He'd been cruel and vicious,   
causing Liz to run from him. Liz had been running from him a lot lately. In his  
more lucid moments, he thought about he'd always pictured Liz in his arms and   
Tess avoiding them.   
  
This thing with Tess was so new, it was hard for him to grasp. Added to  
the pressures he was facing with Isabel, everything was practically unbearable.   
His insides were a swirling mass of confusion and he no longer knew how he   
was supposed to feel or what he was supposed to do. It was too different, too   
much, too fast. But it was also his life. He had to survive. For Tess, for   
Michael & Isabel, for a whole race of people he didn't he even know. He   
had to survive. It was the only way. No matter what he wanted.   
  
"Needs Beyond Duties"  
  
Lying to Max had been something he had perfected over the years. Back  
when Hank was still beating up on him, he had often attributed a nasty bruise  
to a fall or a collision. He was very good at spinning a lie. However, Max  
was just as good at realizing when he was lying. Just because he could do it  
didn't mean he was believed. But he kept lying.   
  
This time he was lying because he needed to know the truth. He needed   
to know if they had anything to do with Alex's death. He could still remember  
looking up at Alex, after a well-placed, surprisingly strong punch from the  
wiry boy sent him flying to the dingy carpet. He was sure that the manual for  
being a good soldier said that you weren't supposed to lie to your King, but he  
had to know.   
  
He let his girlfriend and her best friend travel to Santa Fe, by themselves,  
his only comfort the promise Maria made to him. And because Maria was his girlfriend,  
he knew exactly how much that promise was worth and hightailed it to Santa Fe as  
soon as he could. At one point, he was ready to drag them both home. Yet Liz  
had looked up at him with unexpected fire in her eyes, and he knew that she   
also needed the truth.   
  
A second's hesitation on his part would have resulted in Liz being toasted   
into ashes. Reflexes he barely knew he had kicked in to save Liz's life. A pure  
shot of relief had coursed through his veins as he stared into Liz's eyes. Before  
he would have been afraid because Max would have killed him if he let anything   
happen to Liz. Now, he did it because he needed to. Because she was his friend  
and he couldn't stand to lose another person.   
  
Roaring down the street, his legs clasped tightly against the bike, he  
was highly conscious of the stack of paper tucked inside his jacket. All the   
answers he ever needed, they were in his possession. He had done what he had to,  
in order to get what he needed. He needed the truth. About himself, about their  
race, about their mission and about Alex's death. He had needed the truth and   
now he was one step away from finding out about it all.   
  
  
"Beyond"  
  
It was one of his more sicker impulses as he laid there, that made him keep  
watching them kiss. He had been waiting up for her, wondering where she was.   
Seeing the two of them make out like that, observing the way Max's hands wound   
through her hair, it did something to him. Maybe he did only view Tess as a sister,   
but he had tasted those lips, knew how silky those curls were. He had been debating   
on whether to keep torturing himself or to risk embarassment by telling them he was awake.   
Luckily, his father made the decision for him.   
  
Later, he had saw Isabel sitting isolated on the bleachers, and had picked  
up an extra coffee from the cafeteria for her. Isabel was alone a lot lately, her  
usual group of followers nowhere to be seen. He climbed up the metal steps and   
sat down besides her, following her gaze to the weatherworn picture of Alex. From  
this one incident, a friendship of sorts had formed between them, a relationship  
solely devoted to driving Max Evans insane. Max had saved his life and in return,  
had taken everything else away. For Isabel, Max was robbing her of her future.   
  
He'd told Isabel that his motivation was the desire to see a Playmate scantily  
clad, up close and personal. The truth was that he needed to make Max pay. He needed  
to cause Max pain. As petty and vindictive as it was, he couldn't continue watching  
Max prance around as King of the Galaxy, when he was hurting so many other people.   
Liz walked around these days like a woman possessed and Maria's fire was noticably   
dimmed. Isabel was miserable and Michael was trapped between the human woman he loved  
and his people. He was just waiting to see what torment the alien boy would inflict  
on Tess.   
  
These people were his friends and he had a duty to them. He had a duty to   
keep them safe and he needed to see them happy. He knew that only a year ago, they  
were the farthest thing from his mind. But his life had changed, and he was smart  
enough to realize that he had to change with it. They were all broken inside now,   
thanks to Max Evans, and he knew that he had to be the strong one. It went   
beyond duty and need. It was simply the right thing to do.   
  



End file.
